The Firefly Food Chain

My firefly meadows are managed for the food chain of the larva, both above ground and below ground.

The native perennial asters are an important component of the food chain as they appear to be the favorite food of the snails that the firefly larva eat after emerging in the spring. Here the snail, slug, spider, and worm populations are very large due to the native biomass of the meadow.

It is important to spot cut invasive plants several times during the growing year and to cut the meadow only once a year after the first hard frost.